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A Letter of Instruction Can Spare Your Heirs Great Stress

April 8th, 2013

While it is important to have an updated estate plan, there is a lot of information that your heirs should know that doesn't necessarily fit into a will, trust or other components of an estate plan. The solution is a letter of instruction, which can provide your heirs with guidance if you die or become incapacitated.

A letter of instruction is a legally non-binding document that gives your heirs information crucial to helping them tie up your affairs. Without such a letter, it can be easy for heirs to miss important items or become overwhelmed trying to sort through all the documents you left behind. The following are some items that can be included in a letter:

A list of people to contact when you die and a list of beneficiaries of your estate plan

The location of important documents, such as your will, insurance policies, financial statements, deeds, and birth certificate

A list of assets, such as bank accounts, investment accounts, insurance policies, real estate holdings, and military benefits